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My Personal Testimony What does it take to realize that you are hopeless without God? For me, it
took many weeks in an country church in Tennessee and a pastor fueled with a
passion to deliver God's word to me with a lightning bolt of truth and power. I
was actually 12 years old, in 1992, when I accepted Christ. When I accepted
Christ? What does that mean? Well, on June 12, 1992, I met God. This happened
with an awesome sermon on God's love and His saving power. During the sermon I
came to realize that it was sin that eternally separates us all from God (Romans
3:23). God desires to have a relationship with me, but because sin exists in my
life, there is a divider between God and myself (Romans 6:23). God is holy and
pure and has nothing to do with sin. So, what did that say about me? Well, it
showed that there was an emptiness in my life, a change in my life that needed
to be made, and that I cannot make it into heaven on my own as long as
unforgiven sin remains in my life. Sin separated me from Christ, but I was not
left hopeless. I discovered that there was a way out; a way to break down the
barrier of sin that separates us from God. God sent Jesus into the world to lead
us and show us how to live a pure, holy life on earth, but God also sent Jesus
into the world for another reason. God had required a sacrifice to be made to
remove this sin that has separated us from Him. God chose to sacrifice His own
son, Jesus, on a cross (Acts 4:12 , John 14:6). Jesus suffered and died for all
the sin that we have committed before God (John 3:16 , Romans 5:8-9). In this
country church in Tennessee, I found myself lost and separated from God. I
remember going to the altar during altar call. In my weakness, I surrendered
everything to God. I told God that I am weak and hopeless without Him. Then, I
acknowledged my sin. God knew my heart then. God knew that I understood my
separation from Him and that I want to make things right with Him. At this
point, I thanked God for providing Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice, provided as
a sacrifice of forgiveness for my sin (Romans 10:9). Then, I asked God to
forgive all my sin and eternally impact my life. God came through as He
promised. That day, the barrier was removed and I began a personal relationship
with God. God changed me forever and I have never been the same since.
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